* A fun way to practice recognizing letters is to write the letters on a paper towel tube (in all capitals) and also on dot stickers. Your child should match the letter stickers to the letters on the paper towel tube. If you wish to use just the letters we have learned so far, check out this website under the Literacy Tab - Letters We Know. * Another idea is to write the letters on a piece of paper in several rows. Circle the letters. Using ABC flash cards, have your child draw a card and highlight that letter on the paper. For added challenge, use picture cards and your child must decide what sound the picture starts with and should highlight that letter.
* Practice helping your child write his or her name! You can follow the HWT instructions for letters we have already learned, as well as outline your child's name for her to trace. If your child is not already confident at writing her name, it is okay to use your hand as a guide to help her with the strokes. Encourage your child to use a 'strong pincer grip' (or a tri-pod grip) when holding a pencil and as she becomes more comfortable writing you will start to see her pencil line becoming darker and stronger.
* Ask your child to write his or her name on art work they create.
* Make a place mat using laminated construction paper with your child's name written on it. Let your child trace her name on the place mat and decorate her name to make it her own. If you make a mat for each family member they can be used at meal times and your child can be in charge of putting out the mats at each meal. You can also roll play dough into the HWT lines and curves and allow your child to Roll-a-Dough her name at home on the mat.
* Practice the letter songs with your child often.
* Practice saying the name ("Capital E") of the letter with your child along with the sound that it makes (E, /e/). Avoid over pronouncing certain letters, like B /buh/. The sound for B is a crisp /b/ sound. If you are unsure, think of a word that starts with that letter and isolate JUST the sound that letter makes. When your child is ready to start spelling words, she will have a hard time spelling the word bat if she thinks the sound for b is buh...
* When you read with your child, point out when you see / hear that letter! Wikistiks are a fun way for your child to circle the letters he/she sees in text and in the environment.
* Go on scavenger hunts with your child through books...challenge your child to see how many times they can find the preschool letter of the week or one of the letters that we have learned.
* Spray some shaving cream on a washable surface and challenge your child to write the letters we have learned at school!
* Write the letters we have learned on a large piece of pasta (I usually use large shells but any large pasta will do) and mix them all up in a bag or bowl you can take turns pulling letters out of the bag. This can be used for a BINGO game, or a matching game where a card with pictures that start with those letters is used. The child must decide which picture starts with that letter sound! You can even tell your child which letter to write in the shave cream by pulling a pasta letter from the bowl!
* Another game idea is to use play dough to roll out the lines and curves needed to make the letters we have learned. Challenge your child to make the letters we have learned in class.
* Using index cards, write each letter of the alphabet on 2 separate cards. Use the cards to play Alphabet Go Fish or Memory.
* Make cookie dough with your child and use the dough to roll out Big Lines and Little Lines. Use the lines to create the letters we have learned so far in class. Your child will enjoy eating the letters they made afterwards!
* Make an ABC book with your child! Using printer paper or construction paper, print the letters we have learned so far at the top of each page in bold letters. Arrange a series of magazines with advertisements, pictures of animals and other engaging things for your child to browse through. Each time a picture is found that starts with a letter we have learned, your child can cut it out and glue it to the corresponding page. When the pages are completed, the product is bright, meaningful and fun to read!